


I Come From Where the Wildflowers Grow

by vigilantesinthedark



Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Humor, Post-Canon, Purely self indulgent fluff but I hope you all love reading it as much as I loved writing it, These two dorks are soft and happy and in love, Typical levels of Aelin and Rowan’s snarkiness to one another
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-02-23 10:46:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23710261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vigilantesinthedark/pseuds/vigilantesinthedark
Summary: With Orynth in rebuilding after the war, Aelin takes walks through the city to see it and her people again. One day, she asks Rowan to join her. Featuring: Aelin and Rowan’s witty banter, citizens of Terrasen adoring Aelin, and Rowan being soft....“You always say you see all of who I am and aren’t afraid of it. Well, this city is a huge part of that.”He kissed the top of her head. “Let me know when and I’ll be there. But I’ll have you know, if the Queen of Terrasen is going to be my tour guide, I expect to be dazzled.”
Relationships: Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien/Rowan Whitethorn
Comments: 3
Kudos: 92





	I Come From Where the Wildflowers Grow

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by “Wildflowers” by Maddie Poppe. Go give it a listen if you want feelings about Aelin and Terrasen.

No matter what rumors the construction teams might spread about her, the reason Aelin found time to sneak away from her queenly duties wasn’t to micromanage them. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. If she wanted to know how the rebuilding of Orynth was coming, she could ask an obscure noble from an even more obscure committee for a report on it. Actually, they would tell her whether she wanted to hear it or not. She didn’t care how it was being done as long as it was being done. So no. These walks weren’t to oversee the construction. 

They were to see the people. Her people. To reconnect with those she had not seen in so long. To meet the ones born in her absence. To reassure them that through she had abandoned them ten years ago, she was here now. That though she lived in the palace, she didn’t just care about those inside its walls. That tough she was queen, every citizen of Terrasen was just as important to her as her court. 

When she was younger, she remembered her parents doing the same. Not everyday - especially when they got busier and busier with the Adarlan situation she hadn’t then understood. But as often as they could. At least once a week. 

We want everyone who lives in Terrasen to be our friends, her father had gently explained to her when she joined them. And friends try to see each other often. 

Aelin had loved those walks through the city with her parents. She remembered the horse hooves clomping on the streets, the smells of the farmer’s market, the fall winds whipping her hair all about her. Looking back on something always seemed to make it more pleasant. 

And yet, each time she stepped out of the castle gates, she the vibrancy of Orynth struck her again. It didn’t complete her. Having wind back her crown, her kingdom, her family, she was whole again. But it added more to her, until she was so full of joy and love and life that she was bursting at the seams. 

After spending so many years entrenched in darkness and pain, it felt downright frivolous to feel this happy. Flopping onto her bed with a sigh, after returning to the palace, Aelin found that she really didn’t give a damn. She had fought long and hard for this happiness. Though the city was still recovering, she wouldn’t feel guilty for being rejuvenated by it like this. 

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Rowan was already in bed until his leg nudged her from beneath the covers. 

“Have a nice walk, Fireheart?”

Speaking of happiness, here was another central piece of hers. She knew that going on her unguarded walks through the city made him nervous. After everything that happened, his drive to defend her made it difficult to let her go unprotected like that, even though he knew she could handle anything. Aelin felt the same way towards him. Part of this newfound happiness was the constant fear that it would be taken away in an instant. 

“Amazing. Just amazing. I know it sounds redundant to keep saying it, but I love these people so much.” She snorted at how unqueenly that must have sounded, even though it was more sincere than any official statement could be. “There was this little bakery - just a hole in the wall place - that my parents and I used to visit. I just saw the owners again. Every time I find out someone I used to know survived it all, it just feels like.” She stopped, not having the words to continue. 

Rowan pulled her up towards him, and she laced her arms around his neck. “I know, he murmured. “Like one less burden you have to bear. Like a gift you don’t deserve.”

“Come with me next time.”

“What?” He let his surprise show openly, something he still rarely did. 

She pulled back to face him earnestly. “Next time I got for a walk through Orynth, I want you to come with me.”

“Aelin, I know that spending time with your people is important to you. I don’t want to intrude on that time for you.” He was so sincere that it hurt her to hear it. He still didn’t understand how much he mattered here. 

“It is important to me, Buzzard, but that’s why I want you to come with me.” She poker him in the side. “You always say you see all of who I am and aren’t afraid of it. Well, this city is a huge part of that.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Let me know when and I’ll be there. But I’ll have you know, if the Queen of Terrasen is going to be my tour guide, I expect to be dazzled.”

She met the challenge with a smirk. “Have I ever let you down before?”

...

It was almost funny how much this reminded her of showing Rowan around Rifthold when he first arrived there. Even his focus was split in the same way. Some of his attention clearly went to scanning for threats. The rest was looking back and forth between her and the city as if he could read the influence every aspect of it had in turning her into the person she was today. 

The everpresent smile on his tattooed face was new, though. And the fact that Aelin could press a kiss to it whenever she wanted. She may or may not have taken advantage of that many, many times. 

They were currently in the bakery Aelin had told Rowan about, where she was negotiating with the owner over the price of their mini cakes. The price Alara wouldn’t let Aelin pay. 

“No, your majesty.” The woman crossed her arms and refused to accept the coins Aelin held out. “Never for you.”

“Alara, I can’t let you do this.” Aelin steeled herself. Convincing the old baker to let her pay would be tougher than any political negotiation in her life. 

“And I can’t let you do this, Aelin. Not when you’ve already paid more of a price than any of us will ever know.” She reached over the counter and took Aelin’s hand. The one not holding the coins, that is. “You came home. You saved us all. You brought kingsflame back. You don’t need to do anything else for us.”

Aelin squeezed the woman’s hand. “What kind of a Queen would I be if I didn’t obey the wishes of my citizens? Thank you, Alara.”

Rowan shot her a look as they walked back out into the sunny square. “You’re the most strong willed person I know. You don’t back down to anyone’s will.”

She heard the question he didn’t ask. In response, she made a show of patting at all of her pockets. “Oh, would you look at that? I seem to have dropped my coin purse somewhere.” Aelin looked him dead in the eye as she led them to a bench beside a fountain. “Oops.”

“Did being that clumsy help you become Adarlan’s Assassin?” He threw an arm around her shoulders as they sat down. 

“Did being that much of an asshole help you become King of Terrasen?”

“You love me and you know it.”

“I’m pretty sure I married you for your looks, but whatever helps you sleep at night.”

“Stop harassing your poor husband, and eat your cake,” he said, pointedly taking a bite of his own. 

She did. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while, watching some children play with the water in the fountain. 

Dipping into her magic, Aelin shaped some of the water into little birds and sent them flying around the kids. Both she and the birds shook with the effort of keeping the water in form. Just as they were about to drop from the sky, a strong, but gentle wind swept up and held the birds together. That wind also sent them dancing through the air as the children laughed and ran after them. 

She pressed a kiss to Rowan’s cheek, noticing the soft fondness in his eyes as he watched the children playing. 

“That wind really picked up out of nowhere, didn’t it?”

“What a coincidence,” she laughed. 

“And how convenient for those kids that it kept those birds in the sky for them.”

“How convenient indeed. Are you getting baby fever here, Whitethorn?”

“Scared I’ll ruin your hardass reputation?” He tugged on a strand of her hair. 

“According to Fenrys, you’ve gone too soft to keep your own, so I guess mine’s next. 

He idly twirled her hair between his fingers. “Elide and Lorcan are visiting next month, so he can move on to pestering him about going soft.”

Aelin didn’t reply, just contentedly sighing. 

“Thanks for showing me the city today, Fireheart.”

They remained curled into one another on that bench until dark overtook the city, simply taking in Orynth as if they had all the time in the wild to enjoy this new stage of their lives. Because they did.


End file.
